BA and Unite locked in battle both know will cost them dear

Surveying the faces of those squeezed into the rows of Court 71 at the Royal Courts of Justice this morning, it would have been difficult to tell who had won this most bitter of disputes. Though Unite were the notional victors after overturning a high court injunction that deemed 20-days of strike action illegal, the union representatives did not look like winners. There was no crowing, no strutting, no cries of delight when Lady Justice Smith delivered the deciding vote to allow the appeal. There was silence from Tony Woodley, the perma-tanned joint secretary general whose problem is usually knowing when to stop talking rather than when to start. He was saying nothing, he said brusquely, referring journalists instead to his co-chief, Derek Simpson. The first thing Simpson wanted to stress was that: "This is not a moment for being triumphant." What he didn't say was although Unite had won that particular court battle, they are embroiled in a war that can have no winners. Both British Airways and Unite have raised the stakes so high that neither will emerge unscathed. The airline has already lost between £40m - £45m as a result of the first wave of strikes in March, as well as many millions more in lost bookings from travellers who don't want to pay for tickets on planes that might not leave the runway. If this new trio of five-day walkouts go ahead, they can easily expect to lose at least another £100m. And that's not all. The airline is set to unveil a huge £600m slide into the red for the year to March tomorrow, bringing total losses in the past two years to £1bn after a £401m reverse in 2009. Unite, meanwhile, has suffered a huge blow to its reputation after this costly six-month dispute. Even those sympathetic to industrial relations questioned why the union refused to budge in the face of forces – in the shape of the Icelandic ash cloud and the global financial crisis – over which BA had no control. Behind the scenes, many of those who voted for a strike are furious at how the stewards have handled the ensuing fall-out. All three appeal judges expressed their dismay that they had been drafted in to sort out the squabble. A damage limitation exercise from Unite was in full swing on the steps outside the court. As if to reassure any BA passengers watching the scene unfold on the rolling news channels, Simpson looked into the cameras and stressed how ordinary the would-be strikers were. "Our colleagues who work for British Airways cabin crew aren't mad-axe strikers, headbangers. They are decent people, they are intelligent and articulate people, and they voted overwhelmingly, twice, to take part in what is for them an uncharacteristic industrial action. That has got to tell you that there is a breakdown in relationship between the workforce and the management," he said. The decision was being followed closely by other unions, particularly in the transport sector. Had Unite lost the appeal, the ramifications for future industrial action would have been severe, deterring workers from voting for strikes which could later be ruled illegal. But the ruling does not mean that it will be easier for workers to take industrial action, counselled other union leaders. "It was an important result but the ruling will in no way deter other companies from dashing to the courts to stop trade unions carrying out their democratic right to ballot for a strike," said Bob Crow, the general secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT). He added: "The law is constructed in such a way that highly paid very, very clever lawyers can work out tricks to trip up the trade union. If it is not this trick today, they will find another one tomorrow. The nouse of anti-trade union laws is continuously being tightened around the neck of workers. "The thing is that the law isn't written in a clear way. What the law says is that the union must 'take such steps as are reasonably necessary' to inform members of the result 'as soon as is reasonably practicable after the holding of the ballot'. But it doesn't say what it means by that." Lady Justice Smith agreed the law was "not well drafted in my view". Gerry Doherty, the general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) said: "The law is set up to favour employers – there are so many hoops we have to jump through to comply with every single provision. But this is the way labour relations are going these days. Every single dispute seems to end up with a challenge in the courts." The downbeat mood was perhaps best reflected in Simpson's response to a woman clutching a copy of the Socialist Worker outside court who bellowed, "Do you agree that the workers united will never be defeated?" Well, he said, "the workers have been defeated on many occasions. Even when they stay on and fight, they don't always win."